Weekly Release #15
11/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
This Week's Schedule
NCAA Tournament First Round
Michigan (19-12) vs. Rice (25-4)
Friday, Dec. 3 5 p.m. CST Gregory Gymnasium Austin, Texas
NCAA Tournament Second Round
Winner Michigan/Rice vs. Winner Texas/Texas State
Saturday, Dec. 4 6:30 p.m. CST Gregory Gymnasium Austin, Texas
The Front Page
Fifth Tourney in Six Seasons
Michigan's berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament is the fifth in six seasons for the Wolverines. The 2001 season is the only one in which Michigan did not make the field of 64 in head coach Mark Rosen's tenure. Michigan is 4-1 in the first round of NCAA Tournament matches.
Michigan Leads NCAA History
Michigan has made the tournament field four times since 2000, more than any opponent it may face in the first two rounds. Texas qualified for three tourneys, Texas State one and Rice earned its first-ever trip to the dance.
Wolverines vs. the Field of 64
Michigan finished 6-10 against teams in the NCAA Tournament. Rice was 2-3 against teams in the tournament, while Texas posted a 6-4 record. Texas State split 1-1 with teams in the field of 64.
Top 10 Blockers
Freshman Lyndsay Miller and sophomore Megan Bowman finished in the top 10 in the Big Ten in blocks this season. Miller ranked second with 1.30 blocks per game, while Bowman was sixth with 1.19.
Second All-Time
Senior Lisa Gamalski moved into second place on the all-time assist list in the regular-season finale against Penn State. Gamalski has 4,651 assists in her career.
Rice Owls (25-4)
Rice fell to Nevada in the Western Athletic Conference postseason tournament semifinals but secured its first trip to the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid after registering a school-record .862 winning percentage and earning the most wins since 1984 when Rice went 26-18. Michigan is 1-0 against Rice all-time, defeating the Owls 3-0 at the 1991 Rice Baden Showcase Tournament in Houston, Texas. The only common opponent Michigan and Rice share this season is Minnesota. The Owls took the Gophers to five games in a 3-2 loss on Sept. 17 when the Gophers were the No. 1 team in the nation, while Michigan was 0-2 against Minnesota in 2004, falling in three games in Minneapolis on Sept. 25 and losing a five-gamer in Ann Arbor on Nov. 12.
Rice is led by first-year head coach Genny Volpe, formerly an assistant coach at Texas A&M. Six Owls earned all-WAC honors this season with four-time first-team honoree senior outside hitter Rebeca Pazo leading the way. Rice had four players on the first team and two on the second team. After taking first-team honors, sophomore middle blocker Tessa Kuykendall was also named to the WAC all-tournament team.
Rice is 19th in the nation in kills per game (16.89), 19th in hitting percentage (.278) and 22nd in blocks per game (3.01). Kuykendall is fifth in the nation in blocks per game with 1.74. Setter Kristina Hoban is 22nd in the nation in assists per game (13.19).
Texas Longhorns (24-4)
Texas earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament after finishing second in the Big 12 conference with a 16-4 record. Michigan is 0-1 vs. Texas all-time, losing 0-3 in 1981 at the AIAW National Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. Michigan and Texas shared no common opponents in 2004. The Longhorns last made the tournament in 2002 and Texas is 20-0 in first round match-ups all-time.
Texas led all Big 12 schools, placing four members on the all-conference teams. Longhorn senior outside hitter Mira Topic was voted Big 12 Player of the Year, sophomore outside hitter Dariam Acevedo was voted Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and head coach Jerritt Elliott was voted Big 12 Coach of the Year, while Topic and senior All-American middle blocker Bethany Howden earned first-team All-Big 12 accolades. Additionally, sophomore middle blocker Brandy Magee and freshman setter Michelle Moriarty were honored as honorable mention All-Big 12 players.
Elliott was honored by his peers as the conference coach of the year for the first time during his stint in the Big 12, and for the third time in his career including two Pacific 10 Conference coach of the year nods (1999 and 2000) with USC. The fourth-year head coach turned Texas into a 24-4 team after finishing the 2003 season with a 15-14 record. In the conference, Texas went from a 10-10 record and a seventh-place showing in 2003 to a 16-4 record and a second-place finish this season.
Texas is second in the nation in hitting percentage (.317) and eighth in kills per game (17.22), while Topic is sixth in the country in kills per game (5.74). Howden ranks 23rd in the nation in hitting percentage (.387) and Moriarty is 23rd in assists per game (13.16).
Texas State Bobcats (27-5)
The Bobcats earned their fourth automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Southland Conference Tournament title with a 3-1 win over rival Stephen F. Austin. Texas State captured its second-straight regular season league title with a 17-3 conference mark.
Bobcat senior setter Krystal Kolkhorst and senior middle blocker Kacee Rogers earned All-Southland first team honors, leading six Bobcats who earned all-conference honors.Rogers led the league and ranks 19th in the nation in hitting percentage (.394), while Kolkhorst, the SLC Setter of the Year, lead the conference in assists per game (12.42). Kolkhorst is third on the Bobcats all-time career assist list with 4,301. Junior outside hitter Lizzy Nwoke made the second unit after ranking fourth in the league with 3.96 kills per game while senior libero Kristy Jones earned a spot on the third team with 3.98 digs per game.
Two Bobcats earned honorable mention - freshman middle blocker Brandy St. Francis and senior outside hitter Stephanie Torregrosa. St. Francis averaged 2.21 kills on .292 hitting and was second on the team with 92 blocks. Torregrosa finished second on the Bobcats with 2.46 kills per game and 3.14 digs per game.
Head coach Karen Chisum ranks 11th in career victories among active Division I coaches in her 25th season with the Bobcats. Chisum was the 2003 Southland Conference Coach of the Year and has 599 career coaching victories.
News and Notes ...
Gandolph in Sports Illustrated
Senior Jennifer Gandolph was honored by Sports Illustrated in its Faces in the Crowd section after breaking three major statistical records at Michigan this season. Gandolph is the all-time leader in kills, digs and attempts.
Gandolph Making More History
Jennifer Gandolph climbed a pair of Michigan plateaus in the opening weeks of the 2004 season, recording 81 attempts in the first four matches of the season, making her first all-time at Michigan in attempts and then shattering the school record for digs vs. Western Michigan in the third week of the season.
Bowman Blocks REAL Good
Sophomore Megan Bowman continues to climb Michigan's all-time blocking charts, moving into 11th-place all-time on November 19 against Wisconsin. Bowman is one block shy of tying for the 10th spot (284) and 30 blocks shy of ninth place (313).
Freshman Class For the Recordbooks
A trio of freshmen -- Katie Bruzdzinski, Lyndsay Miller and Stesha Selsky -- were not only rated the sixth-best recruiting class in the country by prepvolleyball.com, but they have proved their mettle in their debut seasons. Bruzdzinski is chasing down the all-time freshman kills and attempts records, while Miller is chipping away at the all-time freshman blocks mark. Selsky has already secured the freshman dig record and is setting a new standard for freshman defensive specialists.
School Record for Service Aces
Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski broke a nine-year school record for service aces, recording eight aces against Virginia Tech on September 17 in the Michigan/Nike Invitational. The previous record was set in 1996 by Sarah Jackson against Notre Dame. The record was tied in 2000 by Katrina Lehman who nailed six aces past Michigan State in five games.
Record Setting Performance
Michigan set a school record against Manhattan on September 4 when it hit .525 as a team, the most efficient attack percentage in 31 years of U-M volleyball. The previous record was set in 1991 against Iowa.
300 Career Wins
Head coach Mark Rosen notched his 300th career victory in a 3-0 win over Oakland University in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge.
Rosen Climbs the Charts
Head coach Mark Rosen is tied for second all-time at U-M for coaching wins, pulling even with Greg Giovanazzi with his win against Northwestern on November 20. Giovanazzi coached seven seasons at Michigan, winning 104 matches. Rosen is in his sixth season and needs 74 wins to become U-M's all-time winning coach.
Record-Setting Season
With 21 wins last season, Michigan cracked the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 1997. U-M posted 40 wins in 1981 while winning the Big Ten Conference title.
Record-Setting Season II
Michigan set the school record for the best hitting percentage last season, recording a .250 mark. The previous best was .246, set in 2002.
Hitting the Sweet Spot
Michigan has out-hit its opponents in all but 10 matches this season, slipping below .200 just five times in 31 contests. In contrast, Michigan has allowed just 17 of 31 opponents to hit better than .125, while holding six opponents below .061 hitting. Only six teams have hit better than .271 against the Wolverines this season.
Triple-Double-Triple-Double
Senior Lisa Gamalski recorded consecutive triple-doubles against Purdue (11/6) and No. 5 Minnesota (11/12), giving her four triple-doubles in her senior season and three against top 25 teams.
Three-Time Tournament MVP
Senior Lisa Gamalski earned three tournament MVP awards in three weeks, taking home the hardware from both Michigan tournaments and the Manhattan College Invitational.
Three Tournament Crowns in Three Weeks
Michigan captured the 2004 Michigan/Nike Invitational with victories over Virginia Tech and No. 22 Tennessee, while the Wolverines took the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge with resounding wins over Eastern Michigan, Oakland University and Florida State. One week prior, the Maize and Blue captured the Manhattan College Invitational with victories over Maryland-Eastern Shore, Manhattan and American University.
All-Tournament Wolverines
Senior Lisa Gamalski earned Tournament MVP honors in the Michigan/Nike Invitational, Michigan/Pepsi Challenge and at the Manhattan College Invitational, while senior Jennifer Gandolph earned all tournament team honors in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge and the Manhattan College Invitational. Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski and sophomore Megan Bowman captured all tournament team honors at the Michigan/Nike Invitational, while sophomore Erin Cobler and freshman Lyndsay Miller added all-tournament team honors to their resumes at the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge
A Little Help to 300 Career Wins
Head coach Mark Rosen and his coaching staff are entering their sixth season together at Michigan, but have a lot of history together. Associate head coach, Leisa Rosen (Marks wife) has coached with Mark since 1994 at Northern Michigan, helping him earn each of his victories since. Assistant head coach, Jun Liu, was a star player on the Rosens Northern Michigan squad in 1994-96 before joining the staff as a coach. Liu spent one year at Marquette before rejoining Mark and Leisa at Michigan when the two were hired to take over the program, meaning Liu has been a part of a majority of Marks victories too.
2004 Recruiting Class
Head coach Mark Rosen might have his deepest recruiting class yet with five outstanding freshmen and two transfer students joining the Wolverines for the 2004 season. Rosen's recruiting class was ranked No. 6 nationally by prepvolleyball.com. Heading the list was prepvolleyball.com's No. 23 Senior Ace Katie Bruzdzinski, followed by its No. 25 Senior Ace Lyndsay Miller. Sarah Draves ranked No. 56 among the nation's seniors and Stesha Selsky came in at No. 78. Freshman Mara Martin ranked No. 100 in the nation, capping the incoming freshman class of 2004. St. John's University sophomore transfer Erin Poglits ranks fifth all-time with the Red Storm in career assists, despite playing just one season. St. Clair Community College junior transfer Megan Knoebel joins the Maize and Blue after leading her team in assists last season and holding the team's highest serve percentage her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Next Up -- Sweet 16 ...
Should the Wolverines advance to the Green Bay regional, Michigan will face the winner of the Tallahassee first and second rounds. Stanford headlines the teams in the adjacent bracket, with Florida, Florida A&M and Jacksonville rounding out the field of four.
Milestone Tracker ...
Jennifer Gandolph will tie for third on the all-time matches played list when she competes against Rice. Gandolph has played in 121 matches already in her career ... Sophomore Megan Bowman needs just two blocks to take sole possession of 10th place on the all-time list ... Freshman Katie Bruzdzinski needs 22 more kills to set a freshman record for kills in a debut season ... Should Michigan advance to the second round of the tournament, it will compete in its 1,000 match.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
